Nitrogen fertilization interacts with light to increase Rubus spp. cover in a temperate forest

Christopher A. Walter; Devon T. Raiff; Mark B. Burnham; Frank S. Gilliam; Mary Beth Adams; William T. Peterjohn

doi:10.1007/s11258-016-0583-z

Nitrogen fertilization interacts with light to increase Rubus spp. cover in a temperate forest

Christopher A. Walter, Devon T. Raiff, Mark B. Burnham, Frank S. Gilliam, Mary Beth Adams, William T. Peterjohn

Ecology, Evolution and Behavior

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nitrogen additions have caused species composition changes in many ecosystems by facilitating the growth of nitrophilic species. After 24 years of nitrogen fertilization in a 40 year-old stand at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) in Central Appalachia, USA, the cover of Rubus spp. has increased from 1 to 19 % of total herbaceous-layer cover. While Rubus spp. are generally associated with high-light conditions that are created after a disturbance event, some species are also known to be nitrophilic. We investigated whether the increase in cover in Rubus spp. was due to either nitrogen, light, or an interaction between these two factors. To test for the effect of nitrogen and light on Rubus spp. cover, we compared the relative cover of Rubus spp. among fertilized and unfertilized watersheds and among fertilized and unfertilized experimental plots, using estimates of canopy openness as a covariate. Rubus spp. plants were also grown ex situ in a field experiment using a 2-way factorial design, measuring leaf area, and using two levels of nitrogen and three levels of light. The effect of nitrogen fertilization on relative Rubus spp. cover depended on canopy openness in the watersheds (F = 17.57, p = 0.0002) and experimental plots (F = 25.04, p = 0.0047). A similar effect for leaf area was also observed among plants grown in the field experiment (F = 4.12, p = 0.0247). Our results confirm that, although Rubus spp. at FEF are nitrophilic, they require sufficient light to increase their cover. Furthermore, the dominance of Rubus spp. in the herbaceous layer likely contributes to the observed decline in species diversity.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	421-430
Number of pages	10
Journal	Plant Ecology
Volume	217
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-016-0583-z
State	Published - Apr 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank Rachel Arrick, Bobby Clemer, Jessica Graham, Joe Hilgenberg, Lily Hill, Justin Lego, and Hoff Lindberg for helping with field and farm excursions. We are grateful to Jen Chandler, Jessi Brie Turner, and Jim McGraw for their insightful comments and suggestions in writing this manuscript. Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation from their Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology program (Grant Nos. DEB-0417678 and DEB-1019522) and their Research Experience for Undergraduates program (Grant No. DBI-0849917), as well as the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the David Blaydes Scholarship. Finally, special thanks to the staff of the Fernow Experimental Forest, past and present, for the foresight to begin and maintain long-term ecological research in central Appalachia.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Keywords

Bramble
Fertilization
Forest understory
Herbaceous layer
Nitrogen deposition
Rubus

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title = "Nitrogen fertilization interacts with light to increase Rubus spp. cover in a temperate forest",

abstract = "Nitrogen additions have caused species composition changes in many ecosystems by facilitating the growth of nitrophilic species. After 24 years of nitrogen fertilization in a 40 year-old stand at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) in Central Appalachia, USA, the cover of Rubus spp. has increased from 1 to 19 % of total herbaceous-layer cover. While Rubus spp. are generally associated with high-light conditions that are created after a disturbance event, some species are also known to be nitrophilic. We investigated whether the increase in cover in Rubus spp. was due to either nitrogen, light, or an interaction between these two factors. To test for the effect of nitrogen and light on Rubus spp. cover, we compared the relative cover of Rubus spp. among fertilized and unfertilized watersheds and among fertilized and unfertilized experimental plots, using estimates of canopy openness as a covariate. Rubus spp. plants were also grown ex situ in a field experiment using a 2-way factorial design, measuring leaf area, and using two levels of nitrogen and three levels of light. The effect of nitrogen fertilization on relative Rubus spp. cover depended on canopy openness in the watersheds (F = 17.57, p = 0.0002) and experimental plots (F = 25.04, p = 0.0047). A similar effect for leaf area was also observed among plants grown in the field experiment (F = 4.12, p = 0.0247). Our results confirm that, although Rubus spp. at FEF are nitrophilic, they require sufficient light to increase their cover. Furthermore, the dominance of Rubus spp. in the herbaceous layer likely contributes to the observed decline in species diversity.",

keywords = "Bramble, Fertilization, Forest understory, Herbaceous layer, Nitrogen deposition, Rubus",

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AU - Adams, Mary Beth

AU - Peterjohn, William T.

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N2 - Nitrogen additions have caused species composition changes in many ecosystems by facilitating the growth of nitrophilic species. After 24 years of nitrogen fertilization in a 40 year-old stand at the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) in Central Appalachia, USA, the cover of Rubus spp. has increased from 1 to 19 % of total herbaceous-layer cover. While Rubus spp. are generally associated with high-light conditions that are created after a disturbance event, some species are also known to be nitrophilic. We investigated whether the increase in cover in Rubus spp. was due to either nitrogen, light, or an interaction between these two factors. To test for the effect of nitrogen and light on Rubus spp. cover, we compared the relative cover of Rubus spp. among fertilized and unfertilized watersheds and among fertilized and unfertilized experimental plots, using estimates of canopy openness as a covariate. Rubus spp. plants were also grown ex situ in a field experiment using a 2-way factorial design, measuring leaf area, and using two levels of nitrogen and three levels of light. The effect of nitrogen fertilization on relative Rubus spp. cover depended on canopy openness in the watersheds (F = 17.57, p = 0.0002) and experimental plots (F = 25.04, p = 0.0047). A similar effect for leaf area was also observed among plants grown in the field experiment (F = 4.12, p = 0.0247). Our results confirm that, although Rubus spp. at FEF are nitrophilic, they require sufficient light to increase their cover. Furthermore, the dominance of Rubus spp. in the herbaceous layer likely contributes to the observed decline in species diversity.

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KW - Fertilization

KW - Forest understory

KW - Herbaceous layer

KW - Nitrogen deposition

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Nitrogen fertilization interacts with light to increase Rubus spp. cover in a temperate forest

Abstract

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Keywords

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